DeepSummary
The episode discusses a report from the National Academies titled 'Accelerating Decarbonization in the United States' that provides a comprehensive analysis of the technological, policy, and societal aspects required to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The report underscores that while funding and technology are essential, the most significant barriers to decarbonization are non-technological challenges, such as institutional, jurisdictional, and social issues.
The conversation focuses on the energy-related aspects of the report, particularly the integration of renewable electricity, reforms for interstate transmission, targets for buildings and transport, and managing the future of the fossil fuel sector. The guest, Sue Tierney, an expert in energy and environmental economics, emphasizes the importance of addressing non-technological barriers, including public engagement, decision-making support, innovative pricing, and overcoming institutional mismatches between electrical regions and state boundaries.
The episode highlights the critical role of various stakeholders, including state and local actors, regulators, community leaders, and businesses, in implementing decarbonization solutions effectively. It underscores the need for cultural changes, business model transformations, and innovative regulatory decision-making to accelerate the energy transition at an unprecedented pace.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- The report 'Accelerating Decarbonization in the United States' provides a comprehensive analysis of the technological, policy, and societal dimensions required to achieve net-zero emissions in the U.S. by 2050.
- Non-technological barriers, such as institutional, jurisdictional, and social challenges, are the most significant obstacles to decarbonization and must be addressed.
- Innovative pricing strategies, public engagement, and decision-making support are crucial for the effective integration of renewable electricity and the modernization of the energy system.
- Addressing the mismatch between the boundaries of electrical regions and state jurisdictions is essential for effective interstate transmission planning and cost allocation.
- Cultural changes, business model transformations, and innovative regulatory decision-making are necessary to accelerate the energy transition at an unprecedented pace.
- The involvement and collaboration of various stakeholders, including state and local actors, regulators, community leaders, and businesses, are critical for the successful implementation of decarbonization solutions.
- Trillions of dollars in funding have been allocated through recent legislation, but effective mobilization requires the willing participation of diverse actors at all levels.
- The report underscores the need for a broad array of solutions beyond just substituting renewables for fossil fuels in power generation and EVs for oil-burning cars.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “If we don't price electricity in ways that are different in the future than we traditionally have, then we are going to have a system which is probably going to have to be built in a bigger way, more capacity on the grid, more expense added to support that capacity.“ by Sue Tierney
- “There's ways to assure that with different kinds of rate designs, everybody has a chance to have access to the grid, but there can be a lot of different kind of creative usage and tariff design, and more work is needed in this area and an accelerated pace in the next years ahead.“ by Sue Tierney
- “These are institutional, they are jurisdictional, they are, there are information gaps that exist for many types of communities. There are market structures that don't necessarily favor or even have a level playing field for some types of clean energy resources.“ by Sue Tierney
- “We built our system over 100 years, and the energy transition, which is what you've been focusing your attention on for hundreds of shows, is really something that is accelerating at such a different pace than we've had in the past. So we need to be innovative.“ by Sue Tierney
- “Clearly people are well aware that, but the transition that we're involved in right now involves a lot of people being interested in and already putting pv solar on their rooftops. But in order for the distribution system to handle more and more of such on site generation, the systems have to be upgraded in terms of their communications, their controls, how you interconnect different local facilities to the grid.“ by Sue Tierney
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Episode Information
The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder
XE Network
2/21/24
In this episode, we discuss the energy-related decarbonization strategies outlined in a new report from the National Academies, titled “Accelerating Decarbonization in the United States: Technology, Policy, and Societal Dimensions,” with Dr. Sue Tierney, a Senior Advisor at Analysis Group and a renowned expert in energy and environmental economics, regulation, and policy. Dr. Tierney played a key role in the Committee on Accelerating Decarbonization in the United States, which developed and coordinated this landmark study. We explore how decarbonizing the US requires much more than simply substituting renewables for fossil fuels in power generation and EVs for oil-burning cars. A broad array of solutions must be deployed, but they face numerous barriers and risks to implementation.
Trillions of dollars have been allocated for these energy and technology solutions through three significant laws passed in 2022: the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act. However, effectively mobilizing these funds requires willing collaboration from a diverse group of local, municipal, and state actors, including elected officials, regulators, agency staffers, as well as community and business leaders.
Listen in to learn why delivering a successful energy transition, along with a host of other benefits such as justice, equity, health, jobs, and sustainability writ large, necessitates understanding the barriers to implementation and identifying the types of policies and programs needed to keep the US on track to achieving net zero.